Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/03/21

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Subject: [Leica] Perfect focus for landscape?
From: Paul Roark <proark@silcom.com>
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 13:14:08 -0800

On Mon, 20 Mar 2000  Mark Rabiner wrote, in part:

>>>>...I think a sharp foreground is more important 
than a sharp background although a sharp background is usually pretty easy to 
get. I think your eye goes to the bottom of a picture after seeing the main 
subject. A soft background we can forgive easier than a soft foreground. 
Textures are bigger and right in front of you in the forground....<<<

Perhaps it depends on the type of shot and composition.  The relative
importance of the objects to the composition may be one factor.  Frankly, I
like everything perfectly sharp most of the time.  

Consistent with your views, I must say that on my favorite
foreground-to-background sweepers, where a sharp foreground was critical,
it took a lot more work to get the foregrounds to look right than it did to
get good background sharpness.  [Of course, I blamed my old Distagon's
close up performance for the problems -- not my technique. :-) ]

These days, I take more than one shot if there is any question that the
main objects of the composition will be sharp.  (Thank you, Photoshop.)

Paul Roark
http://www.silcom.com/~proark/photos.html